I finally had some food and a place I could sleep. I was in a big tent with other children that did not have parents. This was sad to see and only reminded me that the war destroyed everything from buildings to families. It was hard to sleep, as so much was rushing through my head. I have seen things that no 10-year-old child should see. My best friend was dead and who knows if my parents were dead. I also have done things that I should not have done. I kept thinking I should have gone back to the shop that was bombed to see if there were anybody alive. Even if I did, I would not know what to do.
I tried to speak with some children in the tent. They all had blank faces and faces that showed no emotion. When a child spoke with me, they would just tell the same story. It would be a story about bombings, shootings, people being killed. The worse was if they said that they seen their parents die. In the end, I did not speak with any. I did not want to be reminded about what happened outside the camp.
I held on to the picture of my family as I thought about what I should do. I could not think about the future. I could only think about now. The only constructive answer I could think of was to trust in God and have hope. It was my job to survive. Things would never be the same again, but they would get better.
It was just not me. The camp was very crowded. Most people just sat in the same place all day while other people walked around like zombies. Everyone here lost everything they had. Their houses, and cars and jobs. There was no school. The shops were gone. Some lost all their families. I could understand why they didn't smile. I showed no emotion in my face.
As I walked around, I thought that life was strange. A week ago, we were one of the richest nations in the world. Now we had nothing left. We even depended on Charity organizations to have a bed and some food.
As I walked, I saw a woman that was on the ground. A man was kicking her. Other men were just staring at the violence while women were begging the man to stop kicking her. After some time, he left the woman alone and the other women tried to take care of her. A big girl that was standing next to me whispered that this happened a lot. People lost the kindness and compassion they had. Now it was only the strong that survived.
I walked around showing people the picture of my mom and dad and asked if anyone had seen them. No one has seen them. I felt awkward asking people as I knew that they have most likely lost a loved one. Most people were just staring at nothing. It was obvious to see that they lost everything in their life. However, I had to move on and try to find someone that seen my parents. As more and more people told me that they have not seen my parents, the more and more unhappy I became and the more convinced I was that my parents were gone. It was becoming more and more obvious that I was an orphan.
I walked by some Russian soldiers, and one of them wanted me to stop. He then started feeling my cheek and telling me how beautiful I was. The soldier was telling me that we could have some fun, so I should go with him. I told him no thanks, but he took my hand and started pulling me, This was not good, I suspected he wanted to hurt me so I started crying and begging for him to leave me alone. Another soldier that was there said the same thing, He told the evil soldier that I was only a child and to let me go. He was still pulling me when a woman interfered and told the soldier to leave me alone. I recognized her. She was Jacobs's mother. He was the boy that followed me everywhere at school and teased me at times. The soldier was mad at this woman's interfering, and I thought he would shoot her. However, he just shouted at us to go back to our beds and he did not want to see me again!
To be quite honest, I was happy when I saw Jacob. He was very annoying at school but he was the only person in this world I knew. As we sat around on some mattresses, I told his mother (Mrs. Jensen) everything about what I experienced in the war. Mrs. Jensen shed a tear when she heard that Grace and her mother were dead, and she said it wasn't the best plan my mom had in leaving me behind. She asked me about grandparents and uncles and aunts. I knew I had them and they lived in another city. The problem was where were they and if they were dead or not.
Mrs. Jensen told me as soon as the bombs started falling, she took Jacob here. At the start, it was a good place as the Russians did not bomb close to it. Now it was overcrowded and things the water and food were getting low. The poor conditions and the hours of doing nothing meant that violence and crime were on the rise, There was no police here and the soldiers often turned a blind eye, and in some circumstances committed acts of crime themselves.
Jacob didn't say a word. He looked like everyone else. He was just a face that was pale and had blank eyes as if they were staring into nothingness. Mrs. Jensen suddenly started crying because she couldn't get that soldier out of her head and what he wanted to do with me. She would not tell me, and that was a blessing as I did not need to know. I knew it was not good.
We could hear another woman shouting for help. No one got up to see what it was. It seemed like these incidents were happening more and more.
Mrs. Jensen told Jacob and me to listen, "The Denmark we know is gone," she whispered, " You know how bad things are here and they are becoming worse. We are no longer safe here. People are being killed every day, some have gone missing and I heard the Russians will be sending us to a concentration camp. No, it is not safe here. A bus will take us to Italy, where we will take a boat to Africa. We will be safe there."
I told her that I could not go, as I had to find my parents. Miss Jensen gave me a hug and told me that I should accept that I am an orphan. In any case, she would protect me until my parents came back into my life... if they came back.
So the next day, we were on an old bus. A Russian soldier was telling us that it was foolish that we were leaving the camp. This was a tense moment for many as the Russians stopped most people from leaving. Mrs. Jensen whispered that it helped American TV stations were there as they made Russians be on their best behavior. The Russians did not want the Americans in the war.
As we went, I thought I heard someone call my name. it Sounded like mom! I looked out the bus window and told Mrs. Jensen. She said it was just my imagination.
So the bus slowly made its way out of the city, which was an obstacle course. This city was the only one I knew all my life. Now it was just rubble and a smoking hell. Jacob was having difficulty breathing as he saw the devastation. So I gave him my teddy-bear and laid his head against my shoulders as I sang some songs for him.
We finally made it to the highway. This was also bombed, but it was not as bad as the city. It was a long drive to Germany, and even in Germany, you could see the devastation of war. The worse was when I could see dead people. There was just so many that died for something they most likely did not understand
When we were driving through Germany, we were driving in a beautiful place. This was the one place that was not hit by the war. I woke Jacob up and showed him how beautiful it was. This made him smile and we talked about how beautiful things were. It was as if for a while, we totally forgot about the war,
Jacob got serious again and told me that since I was an orphan, and he had no dad, we would be like a brother and sister. This made me cry, as I no longer felt alone. When Jacob asked his mother if she can adopt me, she smiled and said she already done so in her heart. This made me cry even more.
I was tired, so I fell asleep.
When I woke up, there was confusion. Mrs. Jensen told me that I had to get off the bus as it had no fuel. We would have to walk to a small town where we could take a boat over to Africa.
It took us 4 days to walk there, and it was the most I ever walked in my life. It was then that I missed Dad a lot, as I am sure he would carry me on his back. Jacob and I tried to make it easier for each other as we spoke with each other or sang some songs. He was not as annoying as he was when we went to school. He knew some good jokes.
Still, the walking was long, Every muscle in my body was screaming with pain and my legs were like logs. I was filthy and especially my hair was like a spider web. It itched and was in a mess. I would play games with Jacob, like who could not moan or complain for the longest time. This helped very little.
To make things worse, we could here bombings and shooting, The local people would tell us to go home because we were just going to attract the Russians. Other locals would tell us to go home as they did not want to feed or house us. It is a strange feeling when people do not want you or spit on you!
We finally came to a small beach.
Mrs. Jensen was speaking with a man and asking if he would take us across the Mediterranean. He did not smile and looked at us as if we were animals. I do not know what happened, but Mrs. Jensen and the man argued. The more they argued, the more Mrs. Jensen started to cry.
Then she told us that the man said the message they got was only 2 would be on the boat. They never heard that I was adopted along the way. Mrs. Jensen cried and said the Russians were now hunting people down and putting them in concentration camps. She wanted us to be safe, so she told us that Jacob and I would be in the boat. This was hard for Jacob to understand. There was no time to argue as we were put on the small dinghy boat. I read on a sign that it could fit 7 people, but 27 people were on the boat.
Despite being so cramped, it was nicer than walking. All the adults were at the edge of the boat while the children were on the floor in the middle. Every time the boat swayed, I had some knee poking against me. Despite this, I tried to put a brave face on. Jacob was crying because his mom was left behind.
A man told Jacob to shut his mouth or he would be thrown into the water. I squeezed Jacobs's hand and told him to be brave. I said I needed him.
When we were halfways over, the waves started getting wicked and wild. The small engine on the boat went out and we were just being cast from one wave to another. I started feeling sick and dizzy but held Jacobs's hand very hard. I was so afraid as more and more water was in the boat.
The man shouted at Jacob and me to help by using a cup to get water out of the boat. It seemed like a waste of time. A woman holding a small baby fell into the water. No one could save them in the storm. Another old lady panicked and said she would swim to shore. She jumped in the water as well.
The storm did stop and we were just floating about. The man told us we had no engines or oars.
It was now up to God if we would be saved.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
